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Just a week ago, we were total strangers.  Today, we share a common bond, a tribe of leaders supporting and pushing each other, all because of a simple challenge, and saying yes.

Background Story

Few authors resonate with me as much as Seth Godin.  He implores you to become a linchpin, also known as someone who is indispensable.  As noted on Amazon, these people figure out what to do when there’s no rule book.  They delight and challenge their customers and peers.  They love their work, pour their best selves into it, and turn each day into a kind of art.  He has a daily blog with over 1 million subscribers.

In his most recent book, Seth talks about overcoming your fears and learning to ship on a consistent basis.  In a chat room accompanying the audio Q&A session for the book (password: MyTurn),  the moderator, Winnie Kao (Godin’s Special Projects Lead) gave us a brief insight on what it’s like to work for Seth.  He told her that ‘every day you don’t put up a blog post, you’ve failed.’  It’s all about delivering content, not waiting until it’s absolutely perfect, not acquiescing to the voice in your head saying it’s not good enough, and getting into the habit of shipping.

The Challenge

One day, Winnie stopped shipping.  A couple of weeks later, in her quest to get unstuck and back on track, she initiated and lead a relatively simple challenge.  Write a blog post daily for 7 days.  The twist?  Asking the Godin tribe to join her.  As it turns out, many people are in the same situation as Winnie.

The Tribe Comes Together

Based off the Q&A session, I had already started blogging daily for 2 weeks before the challenge began.  This was an opportunity to not only ship daily but meet like-minded people.  As Godin observes, “People Like Us Do Stuff Like This.”  Like many great ideas in hindsight, I wondered why I hadn’t thought of it earlier.

Regardless, I knew immediately I had to get involved.  Not just participate, but lead.  After all, isn’t that the point?  To stop waiting for someone else to do it.

I reached out to Winnie and asked if I could assist or help in any way.  The idea made so much sense and would be a great way to help many people learn to ship daily.  As it turns out, I wasn’t alone.  Andy, Joyce, Denys, Steve, and Fraser had similar ideas.

Together, we bonded over the project and found we had a lot in common.  We chatted daily while moderating and approving posts.  Reading and promoting posts on Twitter.  Providing encouragement and technical assistance.  Building a community, a tribe.  It’s been a fun and incredible ride.  As of mid-day Sunday (day 7), we have over 4 thousand posts!  Come check out our work here!

While every project has a beginning, middle, and end, I wanted to ensure we could sustain our momentum past this challenge.  After some collaboration, Andy took the lead and created a facebook group where we could continue the conversation.  Come join us even if you didn’t do the challenge!  I have no doubt our connection will continue to strengthen.  There has already been offers amongst members to provide assistance on side projects and make introductions to their own networks.

This challenge has inspired hundreds of people to create new habits.  Brought like-minded people together.  And finally, showed that it is possible to get past your internal fears and ship consistently, even if it’s not perfect.  People like us do stuff like this.

Our parents ingrained this message in our heads while growing up:  Don’t forget to look both ways when crossing the street!

Let’s remember to use this lesson in our business lives.

We’re eager to get ahead.  We spend a lot of time looking forward.  How do we move up the corporate ladder?  Can I have a mentor who will guide me towards the right path?  Who’s helping me?

Once we succeed and get a promotion or new opportunity, it doesn’t stop there.  We’re then focused on how we get to the next rung.

But what about those below us?  Are you looking backwards in their direction and giving back?  All of a sudden, you are the person they are looking up to for help, regardless if you realize it or not.

This past week, I was a guest speaker for an Emerging Leader program, speaking to 100 global leaders about Business Leadership.  These folks were a special group, nominated by their business units, and then hand-picked due to high performance and potential.  Topics included Strategy & Planning, Results Accountability, and Financial Management, as well as answering many questions about leadership and personal experiences.

When requests for speakers went out, most people averted their virtual eyes and tried to look busy, reminiscent of high school where you prayed the teacher didn’t call on you.  Public speaking is intimidating enough let alone having to put together an accompanying slide deck.

I immediately raised my hand and volunteered.  What a fantastic opportunity to share what I’ve learned and been taught by others along the way.  Sure, there was some work involved putting it together, but the payoff was immense and beyond any expectations I had.  The participants were eager to learn, asked a ton of great questions, and many connected with me afterwards.  In fact, one person specifically requested if I would be her mentor (to which I happily and humbly accepted).

You have more to give back than you realize.  Reach out to a group or reach out to one person.  Make yourself available.

Looking back is as rewarding as looking forward.  Remember to look both ways!

What have you done today?

At the end of the day, can you honestly look back and confidently state 2 or 3 things that transformed your team, department, or organization?  Or, did you feel really busy, but in retrospect didn’t really accomplish much?

It’s easy to get caught up in busy.  Busy feels productive.  Checking email.  Meetings that spawn additional meetings without decisions being made.  Responding to the current crisis of the day.  Interruptions and phone calls.  Checking social media streams also fall into this bucket.

But busy doesn’t move your organization forward.

Two tips that have worked for me:

1. Plan your day the night before
   • Be realistic.  A good rule of thumb is to only schedule 60% of your day as you never know what interruptions and unforeseen opportunities and problems will occur.
   • Prioritize your lists with the biggest impact to you and your organization.  Focus attention where it matters most.
   • Planning earlier allows you to begin each day by completing priorities as opposed to trying to plan during daily distractions.
   • Your daily actions should move priorities/projects forward even if only by a small drip.
   • Strive to complete each day’s priorities before the end of the day.  Have a finite completion date.
2. Block out 90 minute chunks of time to plan
   • Shut off all distractions during this time.  No social media.  No phone.  No email.  Use this time to think and strategize.
   • In his book, The Effective Executive, well-known management guru Peter Drucker stated “even one quarter of the working day, if consolidated in large time units, is usually enough to get the important things done.”

Stop getting caught up in excuses.  Do the work that matters, don’t just look like you are.